Friday, December 18, 2009

Elisha's Bones

20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year.

21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.

The whole passage of Elisha's death is 2 Kings 13: 14 - 21.

So....next random picking of your brains!

What was it about Elisha's bones that brought the man back to life?

14 comments:

  1. Ooooo fascinating. I'll re-read the whole passage when I get home and see.

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  2. I don't know. Reading the whole story makes me think "Were they ever able to bury anyone in that grave again? Why didn't Elisha just get up again if there is something special about his body?"

    My assumption would be that it would remind the people who saw the man that Elisha was a man of God, remind them of his words, and have faith in God's power.

    I don't know enough. I'll have to see what you post about relics and see what I can learn elsewhere. :)

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  3. You know how sometimes you just read through the Bible and you kind of gloss over things? But then you stop and read short passages as you presented and *really* consider what they are saying and are like, "wow!"

    HOW WILD would it be to be one of those burying this man when he suddenly stood to his face, fully revived (resurrected??) after having been dead?

    :-O


    What is it about Elisha's bones? Hmmm, the power of the Lord on Elisha's life which must have *never* left even when Elisha's body was buried? I really don't know, but I'm eager to read others' thoughts.

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  4. Sanil,

    They didn't mean to try burying the man in Elisha's grave to begin with. They dropped him in there because they wanted to be able to flee the marauders. So, I'm not sure they'd try to do it again...

    I'd say Elisha didn't rise again because his time on earth was done, and his soul had been called up to heaven with God.

    'My assumption would be that it would remind the people who saw the man that Elisha was a man of God, remind them of his words, and have faith in God's power.'

    I agree that it would do all of that.

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  5. Susanne,

    That's why I'm reading the Bible (this time) chapter by chapter. Really slow it down and have things that have been there the whole time catch my attention. That's not what brought all this up, but it's a great observation.

    'HOW WILD would it be to be one of those burying this man when he suddenly stood to his face, fully revived (resurrected??) after having been dead?'

    They probably all either dropped dead of a heart attack or peed their pants. It's what I'd do. And then run away. Zombie! Aaaaahhhhhhhh!

    PS: I totally got in trouble one time in Sunday school as a kid by referring to Lazarus as a holy zombie. *makes wide eyes* I may have been a bit of a smart alec in my youth...

    'What is it about Elisha's bones? Hmmm, the power of the Lord on Elisha's life which must have *never* left even when Elisha's body was buried?'

    Sooo...then...Elisha's body was sacred? Made sacred by God working through him?

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  6. "I may have been a bit of a smart alec in my youth..."


    *gasp* Nooooo, not you!


    "Sooo...then...Elisha's body was sacred? Made sacred by God working through him?"

    Not sure, but it's all that came to mind when you asked. :) But I like what you said "made sacred by God working through him."

    *nods head*

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  7. "They didn't mean to try burying the man in Elisha's grave to begin with. They dropped him in there because they wanted to be able to flee the marauders."

    Hm, really? How do you know? Not saying you're wrong, I just didn't get that from the text and don't know if I missed something. From what I've been taught, they had group graves and "Elisha's grave" really would have been a grave used for many that included Elisha. Whether they meant for THIS man to be put in Elisha's grave or not, it would seem stranger to me to not plan on putting ANYONE else there.

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  8. Susanne,

    I know, it's hard to believe, but true. :)

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  9. Sanil,

    I don't know, for sure. I just got the impression that they were burying him in another spot. *thinks* If I'm remembering right, they laid the bodies out on shelves in the tombs to decompose, and then, later on, cleaned and collected the bones, and placed them in osuaries? Which would then go into niches. (I'm not certain when this practice started, but it's what I recall so it's what I'm basing my thinking on) So, given that, I'm thinking that they were laying out the newly dead man, the marauders came by, and they weren't finished, so they hurriedly put him on the shelf where Elisha's body was laying so they could go hide. Maybe Elisha's shelf was nearer the entrance? I don't know. I admit to not being up on Old Testament Jewish burial practices. :) Maybe they did intend to bury him with Elisha, maybe he was the first person they needed to bury after Elisha's death. So they might have planned to put this man, or someone else in the grave, but this was the first time it became an issue.

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  10. Ok, that makes sense. :) Thanks!

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  11. Elisha was filled with the Holy Spirit, as are all the saints. That's why Orthodox Christians venerate (and very often find healing) in the relics of the saints. The psalms say that "God is wonderful in His saints", and this is the power of God being made manifest. It's not just our souls that are saved, but our bodies, too. We await the resurrection, when all will be restored in Christ.

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  12. Alana,

    Yes, thanks! That's what I've been learning about, slowly. :)

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  13. "What was it about Elisha's bones that brought the man back to life?"

    An infusion of Grace into a material thing seemingly in correlation with the Holiness of the individual in question.

    Sounds almost like what those "crazy" Catholics believe about bodies of some saints.

    "Why were mere physical objects like cloths and hankerchiefs that had simply touched the Apostle Paul, then able to heal people that the objects were brought to?"

    An infusion of Grace into a material thing seemingly in correlation with the Holiness of the individual in question.

    Sounds almost like what those "crazy" Catholics believe about relics.

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